Alchemy CEO Claims Crypto Was Designed for AI Agents, Not Humans

The existing financial system was not created with machines in mind, but rather around human limitations such as geographical location, sleep patterns, paperwork, and physical presence. However, as AI agents start to participate in economic activities, this human-centered design is becoming a hindrance, according to Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder of the crypto firm Alchemy. Viswanathan argues that cryptocurrency was essentially built for AI agents, not humans. The discrepancy is apparent everywhere: banks have limited hours due to human constraints, payments are tied to countries because people reside in them, and credit cards require physical identity and presence. In contrast, AI agents operate differently; they do not sleep, have no physical location, and do not use banks or credit cards. Moreover, they are increasingly involved in transactions. All transactions conducted by agents occur online and are inherently global, Viswanathan explained in an interview with CoinDesk. This is where cryptocurrency starts to resemble the native infrastructure for a new type of economic actor, rather than an alternative financial system. Alchemy, a crypto infrastructure company, provides developers with the necessary tools and services to build blockchain-based applications, including APIs, node infrastructure, and data services. Traditional finance is based on the assumption of friction, which is normal for humans but unusable for AI agents. Agents require seamless, borderless transactions at any time, often in small increments, as well as programmability and direct control over funds via code. Cryptocurrency offers exactly that: a global, always-on financial layer where value can be transferred as easily as data. The complexity that has long made cryptocurrency challenging for humans is precisely what makes it powerful for machines, as agents operate natively in code. Viswanathan compared the shift from crypto tools being built primarily for humans to crypto tools being used by AI agents to the transition from the postal system to the internet. Looking ahead, Viswanathan envisions a future where AI agents will sit on top of crypto infrastructure, handling complexity, managing wallets, executing transactions, and optimizing capital flows in real-time, allowing people to control their funds more easily. The result would be a more global, programmable, and autonomous financial system, with a layered structure consisting of traditional finance and crypto as the base, an agent layer operating on top, and a human interface above that.